State Bar of Texas Blog : State Bar of Texas Blog : News & Features on Lawyers & Attorneys & Legal Professionals in Austin, Dallas, Houston & TX

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) has extended the application due date until May 1, 2013 for proposals to fund legal aid programs that provide civil legal services for low-income Texas veterans. Proceeds from the Champions of Justice Gala for Veterans have been designated to fund these grants. 

These funds are to address the increased demand for legal services at a time when many veterans are returning from the war in Afghanistan. Selected applicants will help increase, support and deliver free civil legal services that help low-income Texas veterans with many critical civil legal services in matters such as family law, employment, housing, consumer, bankruptcy and probate as well as including filing claims for compensation or pensions from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Legal assistance is also needed for representing veterans in filing claims for indigent veterans suffering from service-connected disabilities. The scope of work to be funded can also help family members of living or deceased veterans apply for VA benefits. 

Grant applications will be submitted online through the TAJF web grants online system which will require applicants who are not existing grantees to register and once approved, complete the online application and submit it by the due date of Wednesday May 1, 2013 at 5:00 pm. You can access the online grants system by going to grants.tajf.org. For more information, contact Jonathan Vickery at jvickery@teajf.org or 1-800-252-3401 ext. 110

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The Texas Access to Justice Commission and Texas Access to Justice Foundation will present the Access to Justice Legislative Hero Award  to Rep. Jim Pitts on Feb. 24, in Waxahachie. Justice Nathan L. Hecht will make the award presentation at 5:30 p.m. during the 60th Anniversary Celebration and Open House of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Please join us for this event.

What: LANWT Turns 60 Celebration: Waxahachie. Special Guests: Justice Nathan L. Hecht will present the Access to Justice Legislative Hero Award to Representative Jim Pitts. The presentation will begin at 5:30 pm.

Where: 110 E. Main Street, Suite 200, Waxahachie

When: Friday, February 24, 2012 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Description: Our journey began 60 years ago, when 11 lawyers decided that legal advice and aid should be available to anyone, regardless of ability to pay. From that vision came Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, the fifth-largest legal services program in the United States. Please join our Chief Executive Officer, staff, attorneys, board members, volunteers and members of the community in celebrating the vision of our founders while learning more about our firm and the work that we do in the Waxahachie and surrounding communities.

Contacts: Jane Fritz, 817-339-5309 or fritzj@lanwt.org.

Click here for more information.

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Fourteen law students from around the country have been selected to participate in the Access to Justice Summer Internship Program sponsored by the Texas Access to Justice Commission, in partnership with six Texas legal aid providers. The program encourages students to help address the civil legal problems of underserved individuals and communities, and to educate future attorneys about those problems.

The Access to Justice Internship Program provides a unique opportunity for law students to participate in an internship with nonprofit providers of civil legal services located in areas without a local law school. The program particularly benefits rural and underserved parts of Texas that receive much needed help in the delivery of legal aid for low-income Texans.

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October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. John G. Levi, Chairman of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Board of Directors, made a statement urging lawyers to join the LSC in observing this month, asking lawyers for their continuing support of local legal aid programs.

His statement explains that domestic violence occurs more often in households facing economic distress. This is especially prominent during our current economic downturn. Levi explains that a third of all cases handled by LSC-funded programs throughout the country involve family law issues, including domestic violence. He says that "at the local level, legal aid programs are partners in efforts to provide comprehensive, coordinated services to assist victims in attaining long-term self-sufficiency and independence from abuse."

Levi states that legal aid lawyers who work throughout the country in the non-profit programs funded by the LSC are "on the front lines in our nation's effort to protect victims of domestic violence and restore them to lives of safety and security." He explains, "Our partners at the national level include the United States Department of Justice, which provides funding to many of our programs through the Violence Against Women Act. Still, the nonprofit programs funded by LSC need far greater resources to adequately address this serious national problem. Access to civil legal aid is vital to our continuing progress to reduce and prevent domestic abuse."

For more information on the Legal Services Corporation and how you can help, please visit the LSC website at http://www.lsc.gov/index.php.

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John G. Levi, chairman to the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), posted a statement on the LSC website today regarding the 2009 statistics on poverty released by the Census Bureau. According to the report, more Americans qualify for LSC assistance due to lower incomes than in previous years.

Levi points out that LSC-funded agencies already don't have enough resources to offer assistance to everyone who seeks legal help. He encourages "the national legal community to increase its volunteer pro bono work at LSC programs."

Read the entire statement at the LSC website.

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